Prowl
by v2point0
Summary: TFA. Rodimus is stuck on an unknown planet and runs into one of Starscream's clones, the ever special and greedy Dirge. An uneasy and terrible pact is made. Or, at least, attempted. Cowritten oneshot.


This is an rp between myself and **endless_avarice** done some months ago. I played Rodimus and she played Dirge. I edited it together so it appears to be in story format, as it was written in such.

**Title**: Prowl  
><strong>Authors<strong>: **v2point0** & **endless_avarice (LJ)**  
><strong>Rating<strong>: R  
><strong>Warnings<strong>: mild profanity, robotic vampirism, mild to moderate violence, I'd say a smidge of sexuality, I guess  
><strong>Summary<strong>: TFA. Rodimus is stuck on an unknown planet and runs into one of Starscream's clones, the ever special and greedy Dirge. An uneasy and terrible pact is made. Or, at least, attempted.  
><strong>AN**: Any errors with grammar and whatnot are mine, since I beta'd.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I own nothing.

* * *

><p>Rodimus Prime had been separated from his team over an hour ago. The circumstances had been due to faulty wiring on his escape pod. The attack on their ship had come virtually out of nowhere, and before they had time to retaliate their unknown, most-likely-Decepticon ambushers, the ship was functioning at only 45% and all weapons were rendered offline.<p>

In the end, Rodimus managed to lasso his team into the escape pods; he had taken the last, which had suffered a blow earlier. He had no idea the pod was damaged until he tried programing coordinates to a nearby Autobot station where the others were to be heading.

In the end, the pod crashed on some planet unknown to him; the pod was trashed, so there was no accessing emergency help or even a map to see if this desolate land of dust and barren fields was even charted and recorded in the system. Rodimus could access his commlink, but the planet's cloudy atmosphere seemed to hinder his signal.

The Autobot was left with no choice but to gather his weapons and head out, deeper into the cold naked land. He wasn't wounded, save a dent or two in his spoiler, and his weapons were intact. Besides, there was no life signs to be read in his scanners; unless, of course, the fog was playing tricks on them as well.

"Frag," Rodimus cursed, tapping at his temple, trying to clear the static as he moved about the area.

* * *

><p>It was proof of how desperate Starscream's team was getting that they'd sent <em>Dirge<em> out to forage for energon. If they thought they were getting any of his findings, then they obviously didn't know him very well.

... If he found anything, that was...

It was possible Starscream had just sent him to this planet to get him out of his wires for a while- Dirge didn't care either way. A new environment held a potentially endless amount of new things to claim and ingest and hoard. The teal clone was currently relaxing on a cliff's edge, listening idly to the sound of his own nasty engine run. It sounded even spookier out in the strange fog that had settled over the fields.

Rodimus had been quietly wandering for ten minutes, though it felt like eternity. He had expected to find nothing, but go figure the one lifeform on this planet he'd stumble on was a Decepticon.

The Autobot had been ascending a large mound of rocks, climbing with grace and agility as not to make a single noise. With a small 'huff' of cycled air, reaching the top of the hill he found himself staring down a valley - and a Seeker wandering the area with a hungry look in his red optics.

Well. Maybe this Decepticon knew where the Hell he was. Possibly a Decepticon fort? "Great," he mumbled to himself. Rodimus knelt and drew back his bow and arrow, set on hitting the Seeker. Not to kill - if it did hit, the electric shock would be just enough to temporarily disable him, giving Rodimus enough time to interrogate.

The metal string of the bow squeaked as it drew back. Squinting an optic, he fired, sending the arrow flying.

Dirge lazily blinked his optics when something pinged his HUD - a small warning that his energon stores were running low. Well, of course they were... He had spent most of them just getting to the planet and his time had been spent gouging his name into random objects instead of searching for fuel so far.

He was just about to skulk off again with the intention of actually finding something to eat when something flew into his range of vision. His targeting sensors zoomed in on it - an arrow? The clone lifted his palm and caught the thing between forefinger and thumb. He would have smirked if an electric current hadn't pulsed from the thing and sent him collapsing into a heap.

That had been a rather interesting sight. In all his career as Prime, Rodimus had never seen someone catch his arrow in _mid-flight_. Well, Seekers were said to be some of the fastest Cybertronians... For a moment, Rodimus feared his cover was blown, and meant to duck and take shelter; that was until Dirge was electrocuted and thrown to the ground in smoke. The Autobot laughed softly to himself; whenever a 'Con slipped up, it was usually just as ridiculous as this.

Rodimus leaped forward, landing a few feet down before hopping from rock to rock to rock and back onto solid ground. Bow and arrow prepped in his hands, though lowered, he made his way to the twitching, singed Seeker on the ground. "Well, well, well, and I thought I was going to have a little alone time," he sneered, not one to hide his almost juvenile pride.

Rodimus swaggered up to the Seeker's side, bow and arrow now resting at ease beside him. "Sorry to hit you and all that," he smirked, "but I'm a little lost and need some directions."

It figured... Only an Autobot would use a ridiculous trick like a stunning arrow. Dirge groaned and wriggled on his belly, trying to force feeling into his tingling limbs. "Do you ask other Autobots for directions like this or am I just special?" he grumbled. But he couldn't really complain - he had been looking for energon and... well, here it was. "What's in it for me?"

Rodimus chuckled. "Making demands? In your position?" he laughed again. Rodimus circled the Seeker for a moment, eying his chassis. So far, so good - the voltage in the electric shock would be enough to keep him on his belly for at least another ten or so minutes. Rodimus had to hurry.

"I'm not one to kill in cold energon, Deceticreep," Rodimus replied, "so I'll let you go. Tell me where I am, and what you're doing here." He paused. "And if you have any knowledge of the Axalon?" He equipped his laser gun, letting it spin on a finger (always had to show off, his old mentor Kup would say) before pointing it at the Seeker's temple. "I know Seekers ain't the most honest of mechs, but it'd be real easy on us both if you told me the truth."

This one obviously thought he was a real hot shot, didn't he? Dirge favored him with a long hissing laugh before replying. "I'm a lot harder to kill than you think... You'll have to offer me something better than my life - since that's already mine - for your answers," he replied, eying the Autobot's neck with a hungry expression.

Oh, he was a tough one. Rodimus smirked lopsidedly and stepped back. "You Seekers come a dime a dozen, you know," he snorted. "I could easily disable you - permanently - and leave you paralyzed on this planet." He shrugged. "If you're alone, then you'd be completely helpless. But I could always take you with me. You can spend the rest of your life in a Kaon prison cell with a big mech named Bettybot."

Rodimus squatted beside him, tapping a hand on his back. "I may not know much about Seeker mechanics," he said, "but I do know what wire to pull and pluck to keep you from flying." The Autobot checked his chronometer - give or take eight minutes left. "So, how about it? Your life for information. Or an eternity paralyzed on an unknown planet or vorns in prison." He made a lighthearted, thoughtful face. "Sounds about fair, don't you think?"

"And since when are Seekers ever alone?" Dirge snorted, testing his claws to see if he'd gotten back any movement. They responded sluggishly and in an unreliable fashion, lifting slowly and dropping in a random order. Technically he was alone, yes - but one did not hang around Ramjet without learning a thing or two about lying. And he could comm for his brothers and sister - it was just unlikely they would come in time... or... even at all. They might just laugh. "Besides, how would you take me back to prison if you don't even know where you are?"

Rodimus snorted. "I'm well aware pests come in threes," he said, "but you're not always the most loyal to one another, just because you're a trine. I don't even think your people know what 'loyalty' is." He stood and now he was getting testy; less than five minutes. He'd have to ready another arrow, but he was low. They had been on a scouting mission, not recon or attack.

"I'm sure if you won't give me the answers, Decepticreep," he threatened, "I can hotwire that processor of yours and get it myself." Rodimus never liked to consider himself too violent a mech; sure, he could be out of control and crazy, but never to the point where he'd rip someone apart if he didn't need to. But, this was one of those possibly need-to moments. "Maybe if your trine or whatever finds your signal offlined or dampened, they'll come and I can use them."

Rodimus wasn't afraid of a bunch of Seekers. Two? Three? Let 'em come. He'd take them all. But when his chronometer hit three minutes - "Or perhaps we can be more civil. Do you..." He paused, gritting his denta. "... Want anything that you'd trade information for?"

Loyalty was certainly not a personality trait any of the clones had received... Hotwire his processor? That was... an interesting threat. Dirge wasn't exactly sure if the Autobot was bluffing or not in regards to that... But it didn't matter, as with his last comment he was finally speaking the greedy clone's language. "Energon," he answered quickly, tongue darting out to lick at dry lips.

It always came down to energon in the end. "I... may be able to supply that," Rodimus answered, unsure. There had to be a cube or two in the emergency supply kit on the pod. Or at least some energon could be juiced from its near lifeless hull. At that, the electric shock should have worn off, onlining any disabled motor functions.

Rodimus stepped back, his bow and arrow pointed. "Get up slowly," he ordered, optics squinted. "We'll make this fair. You tell me what you know about the Axalon, and I'll lead you to the energon." Oh, certainly the bastard would lie, but Rodimus considered himself a pretty instinctive Autobot. Besides, if the Seeker did have anything to do with the Axalon, he'd shoot him dead.

The clone twitched a leg experimentally, finding that his motor functions had finally been restored. He shoved himself easily to his feet, brushing dust from his chassis under the careful scrutiny of the aiming Autobot. "Mmm, you've got a deal. I don't know anything about this Axalon... But I do know what planet we are on," he responded.

Rodimus shifted an optic ridge. This much the Seeker said seemed true. Still, no reason to trust his word. He eyed the Decepticon, a few feet taller than himself. "Start walking," he ordered, and carefully moved around the Seeker, nudging the tip of his arrow's head against his lower back, "and start talking." He cajoled him forward with a soft, albeit sharp push, in the direction of his pod. He was still energized near 82%, so fear of losing energon was the least of his problems.

Dirge let the Autobot poke him, stifling a giggle at the feeling of the weapon's tip touching his back plating. "I wish I could tell you more but I need to conserve energy," he explained, walking forward obediently. "Maybe after I've refueled?"

Energy? Yeah, right. "Name of the planet will do. Certainly it won't take a gallon to tell me _that_ much," Rodimus sneered. He walked Dirge around the mound of rocks, where the pod was within sight by ten or so yards.

"I tell you that and I'm of no more use to you. I want energon first. You can always shoot me again with your stupid stunning arrows if I try to skip out on you after that, right?" Oh, and look at that, a downed escape pod... That must be where the Autobot came from. Interesting.

Telling him he didn't want to waste more of the arrows was out of the question. "Then stop for a moment," Rodimus ordered and bolted his feet to a halt.

The clone stopped, looking over his shoulder at Rodimus with a curious expression. "Problem?"

"Your null rays," Rodimus scowled. He jerked his arrow to the side, slightly, for example. "Take them off and lay them slowly down on the ground."

"What for? I'm still too scary even when you're behind me with all of your weapons and an arrow aimed at my back?" Dirge snorted. He removed one anyway, dropping it on the ground with blatant disregard for Rodimus's order to do it slowly.

Rodimus scowled. "It's not that I'm scared of you, Decepticon, I just don't trust you," he snapped. He stomped on the barrel of the null ray, crushing it just enough to damage, before kicking it out of harm's reach. "I guess I can leave you with one, so the fight'll be fair _if_ you decide to pull some stupid stunt." He ordered him back around. "Go."

One of Dirge's optics twitched at the sight of the damaged weapon, the clone quiet and unmoving for a few seconds."That was... mine," he growled quietly, wanting very much to rip off one of Rodimus's _arms _and crush it into the ground.

... Later. Right now, cooperate, get fuel. Then he could have some fun after that.

In less than a minute, Rodimus had guided the Seeker to the pod. "Wait here," he ordered, keeping one sharp optic and arrow on his captive. Hopping briskly into the pod, he jammed his elbow into the emergency kit's panel; it flopped off its hinges, letting a few small cubes of energon loose. Hardly enough to sustain a night without rescue, this bastardcon better give him answers. Rodimus calculated at least four, and packed them under his arm. "First," he said, and held up a cube, "tell me where we are."

The sight of the first cube in the Autobot's upturned palm was enough to get the clone's engine purring softly. A thin trail of coolant leaked down one side of his jaw, hands automatically reaching for it. "Chaar..." he blurted.

Chaar. "Oh, goody," Rodimus growled. The last time he had been on this Primus forsaken planet he had nearly died thanks to a special brand of space rust. It sent a flash of anger through his spark at the memory, and how his luck hadn't seemed to change even now. Though it had been a temporary mission on the planet, Rodimus could sense familiarity.

Rodimus tossed him the cube, like a bit of scrap to a starving animal. "Are you alone here? Are their more Decepticons?" He held up another energon cube to bait the answers.

Dirge caught the cube, tossing it into his mouth and crushing the juice out of it. Flecks of pink coated his lips as he swallowed loudly. "Ghn... so small. I am alone - another!" he demanded, beckoning impatiently with a claw.

That was not entirely believable, but Rodimus could tell this Seeker wasn't exactly a team player. "Where do you come from?" he demanded after handing over the second cube, producing the third.

Another cube went swiftly down the Seeker's throat. So infuriatingly bite-sized...! "Earth's moon..." That stupid message about low fuel was popping up again... These cubes weren't going to be enough.

The quick responses, coupled with this Seeker's personality - seemed more truth than lie. He didn't seem to grasp enough intelligence to come up with a lie on the fly. Maybe. Rodimus tossed him the third cube. "There's a small Autobot base, if I'm correct, just outside Chaar's borderline a good 200 megamiles away from here." He held up the final energon cube, so precious. "Take me there. Drop me off, and I'll tell my men not to shoot or attack."

The third was gone just as quickly as its fellows. Dirge lathed one energon coated talon with his tongue, considering the Autobot's request. "200 megamiles... Mm. No can do. Not enough fuel," he said at last, optics watching the fourth cube intently.

Rodimus clenched his denta. "We can quell the pod for energon. It'll be enough for you to get there." Rodimus held back the fourth cube. "I'm sure you Decepticons know all about converting energon," he sneered and stepped back; he put his arrow and bow away, settling for his gun. "Get yourself what you need and then we go." He nodded to the pod on its last leg, to suffer the fate of being squeezed dry like an orange.

Dirge eyed the pod with a dubious expression before looking back to Rodimus. "I can do that, yes... But what exactly are you still keeping that fourth cube from me for?"

"You answered with 'no,' remember?" Rodimus smirked and stepped aside, relaxing against a nearby rock. "Once you've finished loading up on whatever the pod can provide, then you'll get this. I'm sure 200 megamiles is nothing compared to the" - he finger quoted with one pair - "'mighty Seekers.'"

Cocky little bastard... The clone just chuckled and shrugged, making his way over to the unfortunate little pod. It only took the greedy jet around 15 minutes to bleed out all of its energy and convert it to energon. He leaned against its damaged hull while guzzling it all down, obviously quite enjoying his work.

It was a bit... disconcerting, watching the Seeker work. Especially when he consumed his prize. It was like all his attention and desire was on gulping down that energon. A mindless beast with no other intent in life but to hunt, kill and eat, eat, eat. Rodimus had watched him in silence, bored and annoyed, before finally clearing his vocalizer.

"And?" He leaned forward slightly. "Your energon levels? By the way you're practically shoveling it all down, I'd say they're pretty high."

Only the clone's throat was visible, moving fluidly as he swallowed until everything was gone. The Seeker finally tilted his head forward again, ruby red optics blazing in the dim light. "76%," he purred huskily, tossing aside the final empty container. The clone strode forward until he was very close to his Autobot 'captor.' His mouth split into a ridiculously wide grin, showing off glittering dentals. "Not enough..." Dirge whispered, putting a hand on Rodimus's shoulder.

Rodimus repressed the urge to grimace at just how... weird this Decepticon was. Like some sort of leech. He merely glared as he approached, but when he was close, and when he clasped his shoulder -

"We'll get it at 86%," Rodimus said, tone firm, as he yanked the hand off his shoulderplate. He shoved the energon cube against the Seeker's canopy, free hand squeezing at the trigger of his gun. "That's more than enough to get you to the base. Basic Seeker Anatomy 101: alt mode uses less energon; go on autopilot, and you'll have enough fuel to get home, even."

Dirge let him remove his hand, grinning down at the cube pressed against his cockpit. He took it gingerly and stared at it for a few moments, tilting his head to one side. Slowly, the clone slid it into his mouth, optics shuttering, drinking its contents reverently as if it were some kind of ambrosia. Still - the unsettling grin did not leave. "86%? You think that is enough for me?" his cackle was nothing but nasty. Long dexterous fingers were suddenly closed around the wrist of the hand holding his gun, squeezing hard enough to leave dents.

"Just what I expected," Rodimus growled, struggling to keep his lock on the gun. Quickly, he tried the first instinctive means of escape he could conjure up.

Rodimus turned and shoved his back against the Seeker's cockpit, a small crunch echoing the impact; all risks in mind, Rodimus clenched the Seeker's arm now stretched over him and holding his hand, held tight, then threw him over his shoulder and onto the ground, listening to his own wrist crack in the process. His free hand reached for the gun that tumbled from his throbbing servos.

The crunch of glass cracking was accompanied by Dirge's grunt of pain, followed by a surprised yelp as the Autobot actually pulled him over his shoulder - leaving the clone prone on the ground on his back. He still managed to get the fragger to the drop the gun, which he grabbed before Rodimus could recover and snapped in two. Scrabbling to his knees, the clone launched himself at the Autobot with a roar from his faulty engine.

Rodimus snarled as the Seeker threw himself at his gut, tackling him to the ground. The Autobot cursed, quickly reaching back before he fell. He managed to scramble an arrow into his grasp, and while he could not release a paralyzing electric discharge, it could hurt like Hell. Rodimus hit the ground just as he stabbed the arrow into Dirge's shoulder, dangerously close to a fuel pump lining his throat; using all his strength, he shoved the arrow in as deep as possible, ignoring the immense weight above him.

All of the jet's weight crashed down upon his smaller opponent, pressing Rodimus down hard into the dust. Dirge's cockpit ground against the Autobot's chest plating, metal screeching from the harsh contact. A shriek ripped from the clone's vocalizer as the weapon pierced his shoulder, sinking into the flesh as fresh pink energon bubbled up around the shaft.

Dirge punched his attacker hard in the head once just to get him to stop gouging him with the arrow and then closed a hand around the Autobot's skinny neck, squeezing hard enough to start to cut off the fuel to Rodimus's CPU. He sat atop him for a few seconds, panting air through his vents. "You're making me waste energy..." he complained finally.

Rodimus groaned in pain when the fist met his helm. It was not, however, what relinquished his hold on the arrow. When those claws constricted his fuel lines, Rodimus's grasp on the weapon loosened. It did not falter, as if he held onto it for dear life. His free hand, however, tore at the fingers depriving him of the energon he desperately needed.

"Fragging... glitch...!" Rodimus spat, squirming beneath the heavy weight. Not much room to, but damn did he try. He pushed a little more weight, just barely, into the arrow, refusing to let go. "So... fat...!"

The fragging Autobot was not letting go... Dirge winced, keeping his grip on Rodimus's neck strong. Eventually the little scum would be too dizzy to hold on anymore... Meanwhile he would have to deal with the pain... so sharp and intense...

The jet's whole body shuddered. Drops of energon slid from the wound, splattering the Autobot's fist... "You think I'm heavy now? I'm not even done refueling, little Autobot," he sneered, snapping his teeth very close to Rodimus's neck.

There was a limit to his strength; Kup had told him that so many years ago, when Rodimus thought nothing could ever hold him down. But now, as his CPU began to glitch and his processors swam, he could do little more but let darkness slowly creep over him. There was no fighting nature; Rodimus's optics began to dim, rolling up as his hand shook loose of the arrow finally.

Energon barely squeezed through the pinches on his fuel lines, and he tilted his head back, giving a raspy croak of a gasp as his vents heaved hurried air on his hot, overworking systems, as they tried to compensate for the loss.

"Not... afraid..." Rodimus wheezed, pale blue optics turning to Dirge's head so close to his. A thin line of coolant drifted down the length of his chin.

"No? That's all right... I have something I want from you besides your fear," the jet said, tenderly rubbing at one of the main fuel lines in Rodimus's neck. Those optics... so bright... the body shuddering beneath him so full of energon...

Dirge reached over with his free hand and wrenched the arrow out of his shoulder, hissing and snarling from the pain. "Ahh... That really hurt... You're very generous when it comes to pain, I see~" he breathed, snapping it like a twig and flicking the bits away. Now that he was no longer in danger of being stabbed, the clone relaxed his choke hold, moving instead to pin both of his captive's hands. "Ready to give me what I want, little Autobot?"

Rodimus let air cycle throughout his chassis, energon once more filling his numb processors. His optics returned to their usual flare, only frustrated, and autopilot, so deadly close to switching on, stepped back. "You'll get nothing from me, fragging Seeker," he snapped and in a last ditch effort to prove the fight wasn't yet out of him, Rodimus jerked his head up, bashing it hard against Dirge's. Sure, he saw stars and sure it hurt like Hell, but his pride wouldn't have let him live it down if he didn't try.

Dirge reared back, screeching in frustration - Did Autobots ever know when to just give up? He bared his dentals and raked his claws viciously across Rodimus's smug little face, leaving behind a row of deep ragged wounds.

"Nothing? NOTHING? Oh, you're so very wrong. I will take _everything _from you," he snarled, grabbing the Autobot by the chin and jerking his head to the side. His thumb found a fuel line and a talon was stabbed cruelly into the flesh until the telltale pink liquid was flooding up around the digit. Keeping Rodimus's head locked in its position, Dirge bent forward and teased the edges of the puncture with his tongue.

Rodimus knew there were some insane Decepticons, but this. _This _took the oil cake. Struggling to the best of his abilities, Rodimus tried to turn his head, fighting against the fingers holding it back. The moment he felt glossa on his fuel line, that was when he knew he was truly in deep shit. "Sick... fragger...!" he cursed, slices on his face stinging from sudden movement.

Rodimus was weaponless, completely helpless. Fine, if that was how it was going to be... Rodimus offlined his optics, still squirming as much as he could, but focused his energy on opening a commlink. There was still static, but if he could find a decent transmission, a clear enough signal... Certainly the Autobot station's signal would catch his pleas. Mentally, in a series of code, transmitting his situation and calling for backup.

Oblivious to the Autobot's mental schemes and entirely focused on the taste of the sweet sweet energon, Dirge locked his mouth to the wound, sharp dentals pulling it wider... His engine kicked on, rumbling loudly, choking out a low song of desire as the liquid was drawn down into his throat. Still not satisfied, the jet _chewed_, clenching his jaw around Rod's neck, forcing the flow to increase.

Ohhhh... this was heaven... It was so warm and fresh... Dirge's optics rolled back, wings arching and twitching with pleasure. A meter popped up on his HUD showing his fuel stores increasing slowly... 80%...

Strength... Dwindling... So... tired. Rodimus could hardly keep his optics online. Fuel tanks were down to nearly 45%, much lower since his arrival on Chaar. Air continued to cycle in pants out his throat, chest heaving as his spark struggled to hold onto as much energon it could. Mouth slightly gaping, his optic shutters drooped, exhaustion dwindling on the edge.

"Off... me..." Rodimus croaked. He struggled to keep his transmission looping, repeatedly sending out an SOS until someone finally heard. His servos twitched, torn between staying closed or opening. Rodimus squinted his optics and struggled to jerk his head away again. "N-No... slaggit..."

This was so perfect... Taking everything from this Autobot... Not just his fuel - his pride, his anger, strength, hope... Nnngh, the surge of greed was enough to cause his Allspark fragment to glow brightly in his chest... 85%... His swallows grew louder and hungrier, body vibrating with the force of his excited engine. 90%... He didn't even know this Autobot's name whose energon was now inside him. Nor anything about him... If he had friends or family... He would take those from him too if he knew...

Reaching almost 30 to 20 percent. It was amazing he hadn't shut down. Emergency and backup power were kicking in, the reserves bringing him to at least a fifty again. Rodimus swallowed loudly, pretending to be no better off than he was a few seconds ago. The noises this Seeker was making - so disgusting - Rodimus shivered with discomfort.

It seemed, however, his signal had reached someone. It was intercepted, at least, and Rodimus could only pray it was the Autobot station. He offlined his optics, weak, tired, the energon leeched from him with no moment's repose. "Are you..." he grumbled, paused, "... quite... done yet?"

It was becoming a struggle to keep drinking - his body so full of energy and excitement, how could he even hope to keep still? So Dirge moved - wings fluttered, claws curled, the narrow length of his fuselage ground against Rodimus - a long low moan slipping from between dentals still clenched on his throat. 100%... "Mnnnn... no... never..." he mumbled around his mouthful, ignoring the pop up on his HUD.

The clone's fuel tank started to cramp and strain, pushed beyond its capacity when Dirge refused to stop. It only took a few more moments though before the ache was swiftly becoming too much... Abruptly the jet released his hold, coughing up the extra energon that had no where to go but back out again. "Ghhh... Not enough room... " he whined, resting his head on Rod's shoulder.

Rodimus kept quiet as self repairs went to work, eager to close the wounds along his fuel pump. He was back to near 40%, and his body could barely move. Once he was able to at least move, he pulled one hand weakly free. "Get... off me..." he growled and dropped his fist on top of the Seeker's head, albeit not nearly as hard as he wanted to. His hand moved to drop beside him and, biting his lower lip component, he thrust his fist forward, hard and swift into the side of Dirge's cockpit, shattering the canopy. Numbing fingers clawed at the insides, pulling and ripping whatever he could.

The hit to his head merely glitched Dirge's optics for a second and made him grumble. He was really not interested in fighting right now, even though he was back to nominal strength- he would rather just relax and enjoy the feeling of an overly full tank...

Unfortunately, Rodimus wasn't planning on giving him a choice. The jet's optics bugged when something smashed into the glass of his cockpit followed by a screech of surprise as wriggled inside his chest. Dirge tried to jerk away- only succeeding in pulling the Autobot with him. Auuuugh, the little glitch was disconnecting wires! Little sparks shot from the abused circuitry...

"GET OUT OF THERE!" Dirge demanded, shoving his hand hard into the Autobot's chest plate.

This was it. Rodimus held on for dear life, just about all he could in his half-dead state. If he could just get one cable, connect it with a sprocket, maybe then - The Seeker successfully managed to knock him off, ruining his plan, but at least he had taken trophies with him. Rodimus fell to the ground, rolling back and onto his side. Grumbling, he removed the bow and an arrow attached to his back, very weakly aiming a shaky arrow at Dirge.

"Hey," Rodimus rasped weakly around a smile, "catch." With that, he shot the arrow, directly aimed at Dirge's cracked cockpit. The electric discharge would knock him out and oh, then he was gonna kill that bastard.

Dirge crouched, shaking his head and trying to forget the awful feeling of the Autobot's hands tearing at his insides. He looked up just in time to find an arrow pointed at his chest. Screeching a curse, the jet threw out a hand to deflect it, or at least keep it away from his cockpit - but he wasn't fast enough. The tip flew straight through, piercing vital circuitry with a horrible 'thunk' noise.

Dirge felt the electric charge shoot through his already too energized systems, groaning in frustration and pain as his optics winked out.

Rodimus sighed, dragging himself to a sit against a nearby rock. He pressed a hand to his neck wounds, hoping to stop the bleeding. "Game over," he grumbled, and stared to the skies. He was not concerned over the clone - they were comming him again, asking him for his coordinates as the rescue party just reached atmosphere. Rodimus offlined his optics for a minute, urging more power to give a reply: just the coordinates, nothing else.

The Autobot smiled at the Seeker. "My boys'll be here soon," he smirked, "I think they'd like to meet you."

END


End file.
